


Still Got A Lot To Learn

by RadBren13



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gift Exchange
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:41:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29415024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RadBren13/pseuds/RadBren13
Summary: This is my gift to zarinawandrlost as part of the TBH Valentine's Gift Exchange. I am trying to fulfill all their requirements for the fic.It picks up right after the Stepril break-up scene on the bench, filling in what April did that night and then continuing after the last episode.TW: Some parental abuse.
Relationships: April Stevens & Sterling Wesley, April Stevens/Sterling Wesley, Stepril - Relationship
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	1. I Hate To Watch You Walk Away

As April stoically walked away from Sterling, she resisted the urge to turn around and look at the broken-hearted girl she left behind her on the bench. April knew that looking at Sterling again would cause her own stiff resolve to come crumbling apart and she couldn’t risk taking back the decision that had hurt her just as much as it hurt Sterling. April wanted to be with Sterling more than anything, but April also knew that she had to protect herself, and Sterling, for that matter. April had seen what her father was capable of and it terrified her. She cared too much about Sterling to let her be harmed in any way, especially by the likes of one John Stevens.

As she crossed through the school doors, April pulled herself together, shaking off the difficult conversation with Sterling and pulling on her too familiar armor. She took her feelings about what had just happened and tucked them away. She couldn’t let on what she was feeling to any of her classmates, lest they find out about her relationship with Sterling and, even worse, her sexuality. One year and a few months to go. She only had to hold it together for a little more than a year and then she could leave this place and never look back. She had already compartmentalized her sexuality for many years and the finish line was so close now. She just had to power through and then she would no longer have to suppress her heart anymore. April walked into the bathroom, intending to splash water on herself before she returned to the lounge, and a flirtatious Luke. 

As soon as April caught sight of herself in the mirror, however, she realized that her plan to act like everything was fine was going to be near impossible. Her nose and eyes were red from holding in her sorrow and her shoulders slumped forward as if her heartbreak was strung around her neck, weighing her down. Just then, Ellen opened the bathroom door.

“There you are, April! We’ve been looking for you, Honey,” Ellen’s sing-song voice drifted into a soft lullaby when she caught sight of April.

“Oh, Sweetie. Are you feeling alright? You look downright awful. Luke just told me that Sterling’s mama came to get her. I hope the two of you aren’t coming down with something. I’ve noticed some sniffles going around school.”

April breathed a sigh of relief. She had an out. She answered her teacher, “You’re right, Ellen, I’m not feeling well. I must be coming down with something. I thought I could power through, but I don’t want to subject anyone else to catching this. I should head home.”

“I think that’s for the best, Hun,” Ellen offered. “I’ll go get your belongings for you. Do you want me to call your mom to come collect you?”

“That’s very nice of you Ellen,” April replied, “but she’s asleep and I wouldn’t want to wake her. I can manage to get myself home.”

Studying her suddenly sick student for a moment, Ellen acquiesced. “Well, alright. Normally I would insist on calling an adult when a student needs to leave early, but you’re more of an adult than most of these parents, April,” Ellen offered back. “I’ll be right back with your things.”

April wondered to herself how Sterling was doing. Obviously not well if she had also left the lock-in early. April’s mind started to stroll through happy memories of Sterling, like the way her eyes sparkled when she smiled at April or how they used to build elaborate forts with blankets when they were younger, snuggling together inside. She had to keep yanking her thoughts away from Sterling before she got herself in too deep and went running back to the girl who put butterflies inside her chest. “Keep it together, Stevens,” she muttered to herself.

A few moments later April met Ellen in the hallway, “My goodness, April you look even worse than you did a few minutes ago. You go on home and rest up, Darlin’,” Ellen told her as she offered up April’s sleeping bag, pillow, and duffel with a concerned but warm smile.

Tears were streaming down her face before April made it out of the parking lot and she had to pull over two blocks away when her sobs shook her body so violently that she was afraid she would crash her car into someone’s mailbox. Nothing had ever affected April as much as Sterling Wesley.

\---

After crying all the tears she had to shed, April pulled her car back on the road. It was only a short drive to her house, but every song that played on the radio reminded her of Sterling, as if every artist had crafted a song just for her heartbreak. 

As the car approached her street, April considered the fact that her parents weren’t expecting her home until lunchtime tomorrow. She thought about trying to go see Sterling, but reconsidered, knowing that showing up unannounced at Sterling’s house after they’d both left the lock-in early would be suspect to the Wesleys. Plus, what would she even say to Sterling? Nothing she could say would fix the impossible situation they now found themselves in. April inched up her street, considering her options. She stopped the car a few houses away from her own and cut off the lights, idling while she weighed her options for the night ahead. She could go home and pretend she was sick, which would possibly allow her to stay in bed all weekend and miss church on Sunday, as long as she put on a convincing enough act for her father. She could sleep in her car and come home at the expected time tomorrow, pretending that she’d stayed at the lock-in all night. She could go somewhere, but where would she go? All her friends were at the lock-in. A hotel? Then her parents would see the charge on her bank statement. If she took cash out of an ATM, they would see that, too, and then they’d know from the timestamp she had left school early. Things like that didn't get past her parents, especially her overprotective father.

April felt stuck. Stuck with nowhere to go. Stuck in an impossible situation with Sterling. Stuck with a father who could be so gentle and seemingly loving with her mom over dinner and then with her, watching Star Wars on the couch after dinner, but then could go to a sleazy motel and beat up a woman that same night. Stuck in the closet. Stuck in Atlanta. Stuck inside a mind that kept running full force to Sterling Wesley every chance it had.

As April was about to dive face-first into a hole of despair over the sad state of her life, she noticed the garage door at her house rising. She ducked down just in time to see John’s black SUV back out of the driveway and speed past her.

“What in the world?! It’s nearly midnight,” April exclaimed to herself, “Where is he off to in such a hurry?!”

Before giving it a second thought, April flipped on her lights, busted a U-turn, and chased after John, catching up to him at a red light.

Making sure to leave a few cars-length between them, April followed her father’s car through the streets of Atlanta. 

\---

Keeping John’s SUV in her sights was difficult, but April stayed on him as he sped through the wealthy Atlanta suburbs. Out of Buckhead, past Wyngate, Peachtree, and Garden Hills, John wove through other cars, a habit April hated as a passenger in his car and now hated as she struggled to keep his car in her sight. Once he hit interstate 85 heading northeast out of Atlanta, April mused to herself, “is this what he does on the weekends after we’ve gone to sleep? Where in the world is he going at this hour? He can’t be up to any good.”

She wondered if he was headed to their lake house on Lake Lanier, about an hour outside Atlanta, since they always took I-85 to get there, but when they passed by the turn-off to 985, the road that would take them straight to the lake, April knew that wasn’t his intended destination. John stayed on 85 for a while longer before cutting across multiple lanes to veer onto Highway 211. April had never been on this particular stretch of road before, as far as she could remember. It was getting harder to stay inconspicuous, since there were fewer cars on the road the further into their journey they went. Still trailing John, April began to get nervous, not knowing where it was he was leading her.

Just then, his SUV turned into a driveway. The sign above the perfectly tended hedges read “Chateau Elan Winery & Resort.” “A golf resort? Why would he come all the way out here, when we have the country club near the house?” April muttered as she read the sign. She waited a beat before slowly turning into the drive. Inching along with lights turned off, she parked on the far end of the lot from where she could see John’s SUV pulled up to the valet booth. But John was nowhere to be seen.

“Ugh, I don’t know where he went!” April gasped. Turning off the engine, April slipped out of her car and knelt beside it. She glanced around the lot at the surrounding buildings. She saw the hotel with adjoining spa and tasting room, signs pointing the ways to the golf course, gardens, pool, and a handful of restaurants. “Well, he would never be caught dead in an Irish pub, so I know he didn’t go that way. It’s too late for wine tastings, so I doubt he’s there. He’s probably either in the Versailles restaurant or the Bourbon room,” she determined.

As she walked past the Tesla charging station, April muttered to herself, “How anyone still thinks Elon Musk is a genius is beyond me. He named his kid Pythagorean Theorem for goodness sakes.”

“I always did admire your sense of humor,” came a voice, cutting through the air and raising every hair on the back of April’s neck.

She slowly turned, making eyes with the owner of the voice.

“What are you doing here,” she gasped.

“Now that’s really funny, coming from you, Padawan. Did I mention I love your sense of humor?” John dryly and bitingly directed at his daughter. He continued, “it’s hilarious how you are here, over an hour away from the school event where you are supposed to be right now. It’s even funnier that you felt you had a reason to follow me out here, as if adults aren’t allowed to unwind on a Friday night while they believe their children are safe at a school function.”

April tried to speak, but he cut her off. “It’s also humorous that you’ve managed to wander away from the lock-in without parental permission. I know for a fact that your mother didn’t sign off on it because she drowned herself in a bottle of red and fell asleep on the couch before 8 pm. I don’t recall getting a call about you leaving early, myself. So, the better question,” he spat, leaning down until his face was mere inches from April’s, the anger collecting in his lower lip like a dip of tobacco, “What. Are. YOU. Doing. Here.”


	2. The Devil You Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get bumpy for April.

April braced herself for the impact of his hand against her face that she anticipated would follow John’s inquiry. Averting her eyes from his, she balled her fists and waited. And waited. But the blow didn’t come. April kept looking at her feet, not knowing what to expect next. Eventually, she looked up, meeting her father’s furious eyes.

“I asked you a question, what are you doing here,” he repeated, studying her intently.

Thinking quickly on her feet, April tried to come up with something John would accept. She was an excellent debater, though, so coming up with a believable explanation was something April excelled at. “I wasn’t feeling well, so Ellen sent me home, but then I saw you leaving and I was worried that you were going to get in trouble again, so I followed you to make sure you didn’t get arrested again, Daddy. You just got home. I wanted to help. I’m sorry. You can’t go to jail again!” 

With that, April flung herself into his arms, squeezing him tightly. In order to stay in John’s good graces, she knew she had to appeal to his ego. She kept squeezing him tightly until he spoke again.

“You sweet little thing, it’s okay, I’m not mad.”

“You’re not, Daddy?” April laid it on thick.

Pulling back to look at April, John softened. April’s face was still red and splotchy from her earlier sobs over Sterling, but he didn’t need to know the cause of her ruddy nose and eyes. “You really don’t look so good, Sweetheart. You shouldn’t be all the way out here if you don’t feel well. You should be home in bed getting some rest. We need you better by Monday so you don’t miss any school, don’t we?” he told her in the form of a question that she already knew the correct answer to.

“Yes, Daddy. I’m sorry.” Team Stevens always wins. April knew that. That meant putting everything she had into school, even when there was the possibility of something getting in the way. Team Stevens pushes through the obstacles, no matter what. If she had really been sick, April knew that she would have been allowed the weekend to convalesce, but by Monday morning she was expected to be better and ready to tackle another week of rigorous study. There was no time off when it came to Team Stevens. 

“That’s alright, Padawan. I know you were worried about me. Let’s not make a habit about you tailing me, shall we? John replied. “Now, I am here to meet with a few colleagues for a drink and they’re expecting me, so I need to go fulfill my commitment. I don’t want you driving home this late, especially if you’re feeling under the weather. Here, he held out his Black Card, “go book yourself a room, order whatever you want from room service, pick a movie to watch, and get some rest, okay?”

Just as April took the card from his hand, her phone began to ring from an unknown number. Surprised, April said “Nobody ever calls me this late.” Hitting the answer button, she raised the phone to her ear. “Hello?” The voice on the other end immediately started talking quickly. It took April a moment to center her mind on the voice. Once she realized who is belonged to, she sighed. “Blair, I’m really tired, can we do this tomorr-”

John ripped the phone from April’s hands. “Listen here, Blair Wesley,” he sneered, “it is late and my daughter has no business talking to the likes of you. Do not call back here or you’ll be sorry you did.” With that he hung up and handed the phone back to April.

“I don’t want you talking to those Wesley girls. They’re trouble.”

Not sure what to make of what just happened, April told her father, “Don’t worry, Daddy. Sterling and I got into a fight at the lock-in. I’m sure she told Blair what happened and she was calling to lecture me about it. I won’t be spending time with them anytime soon.”

“What were you two fighting about?” John asked her, his jaw tight and his eyes narrow.

“Well, I was sorta flirting with her ex-boyfriend and she didn’t like it.” She told him, honestly.

“The Creswell boy?”

“Yes, Daddy. Luke. He’s captain of the golf team,” she replied, trying to appeal to his interests.

“I can’t say he’d be my top pick for you, but he’s a nice boy, with good prospects. You could do worse. Just don’t let him get in the way of your goals.”

“Yes, Daddy. I know. It was nothing really. We were just flirting a little.”

“Nothing wrong with a little flirting. But flirting can lead to other things. So make sure you’re keeping yourself pure.”

“Of course, Daddy.”

John hesitates for a moment. “And April?”

“Yes, Daddy?” She responds.

“As long as you stay away from those Wesleys, you don’t have to worry too much about me getting into any more trouble.”

Not sure what he’s getting at, April asks a question that she will regret. “What do the Wesleys have to do with you staying out of trouble, Daddy? I don’t understand.”

“Those bitches are the ones who turned me in,” John snickered, “pardon my language.”

As soon as the words hit the air, April felt faint. Everything around her went black and she felt as if she were going to throw up. “What?” was all she could breathe out.

“They stalked me, knocked me over the head, and hauled me in. It’s their fault I went to jail. So you stay away from those girls. They’re trouble, ya hear?”

Still feeling like she was going to pass out, all April could utter was, “Yes, Daddy.”

“Now you look downright awful, Sweetheart, let’s get you up to that room so you can rest,” he gently spoke as he guided her into the hotel and booked a room.

April didn’t get any rest that night. Instead, she fumed. One thought leading into the next, into the next, until she circled back around to the first thought and repeated the process, over and over. How could Sterling turn in her father? She expected this from Blair, but Sterling? The same Sterling who urged her to live honestly by coming out? The same Sterling who kissed her sweetly in Ellen’s office? The same Sterling who she let touch her intimately in the backseat of a car?! How could Sterling withhold such a huge piece of information from her?!?! How could Sterling listen to her talk about her father’s dishonesty and kiss her on the same breath, knowing she was lying, as well. It was just too much for April to process. For the second time in one night, April sobbed over Sterling Wesley.

\---

When she finally did sleep, as the sun peaked over the horizon, April dreamed of Sterling. They were happy and in love in her dream world. Everything felt so real that it drew her deeply into the fantasy. April could feel the softness of Sterling’s lips and the curve of her hips, she could smell her uniquely Sterling smell, she could taste the skin on her shoulder where April enjoyed giving Sterling love-bites while listening to Sterling’s breath quicken. The dreams felt so real, so easy, so comforting. Then April woke up and remembered Sterling’s betrayal all over again, hot tears cascading down her face as her anger intermingled with her heartbreak over the losing the person she’d wanted for so long.

April’s phone pinged around 10 am with a text from her father: “Hope you got some rest, Padawan. I told the front desk that you needed a late check-out, so go ahead and rest until three, then head on home. My business meeting went well enough last night that I’m heading out of town to close a deal. I let your mom know where you were. She’ll be expecting you home this evening. x”

“Thanks, Daddy. x” She sent back, too exhausted to force anything else for this man, even through text.

April laid in the king-sized bed with 1,000 thread-count sheets and tried to digest everything that had happened the day before. It was a lot to chew. Unfortunately, what it boiled down to for April was that she didn’t think she could trust anyone. The two people that she had entrusted the most to in her entire life had turned out to be untrustworthy. So where did that leave her? She truly didn’t know and that hurt in the pit of her stomach. She took a shower, letting the endless hot water relax her tight muscles and wash away her weariness. She was thankful that she had her duffel from the lock-in, complete with her toothbrush and a change of clothes. When she had pulled herself together the best that she could, she slipped into her car and headed back home. 

As if on auto-pilot, she found herself sitting in front of the Wesleys’ house. None of their cars were in the driveway, which wasn’t unusual for a Saturday. Blair usually had a lacrosse game and/or she and/or Sterling had a shift at the yogurt shop. Debbie and Anderson kept a busy social calendar just like April’s parents did, so they were probably off at some charity function or other social gathering. April breathed out a heavy sigh and pulled into the driveway to turn around and head home. As she was backing out of the driveway, the front door opened and there stood Sterling. April was so caught off guard that she slammed on the breaks, her anger bubbling to the surface again. April threw the car into park and swung open her car door just as Sterling started walking towards the car. “April?” she said softly.

Sterling stopped halfway across the lawn as April rounded the car towards her, seething. Just then a car screeching to a thundering stop diverted their attention. Blair had driven the Volt up onto the grass and was jumping out of the car with her lacrosse stick. Blair ran toward April swinging the stick, yelling “Get out of here, Stevens, you’ve done enough damage! Some help you are!”

“This is between me and Sterling, Blair. Can you please BUTT OUT!” April flung at Blair.

Still holding the stick, Blair stepped in front of Sterling, lobbing back, “She’s been through enough without you making things worse!”

Not able to hold it in any longer, April screams at the twins, “I KNOW YOU TURNED IN MY FATHER! HOW COULD YOU?!”

Both twins froze, mouths agape. After a moment, Sterling stepped towards April, stammering, “April, I, I can explain,” looking back at Blair and then at April, “We can explain.”

April glared at her former flame, “Save it, Sterling. Nothing you say can repair the damage you’ve done.” With that, April turned on her heels, climbed back in her car, and took off, leaving Blair and Sterling looking at each other aghast in their front yard.

April drove aimlessly. She wasn’t quite ready to go home, but she also didn’t know where else to go. She was so hurt that her insides ached. She drove in circles around the neighborhood. As her mind wandered on the drive, she realized there was one person she still trusted. Someone who always supported and uplifted her. She decided to take a tiny detour before heading home.

When the door swung open to an unfamiliar face, April apologetically stated “Oh, I’m sorry. I must have the wrong house, I was looking for-”

Just then the person she was looking for stepped into the doorway. “Ellen!” April exclaimed before bursting into tears.


	3. A Voice of Reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April confides in Ellen.

Ellen pulled April into her arms and walked her to a loveseat in the living room where Ellen held April as she cried. Ellen stroked her hair and whispered in her ear, “it’s okay, April, you’re safe, you let it out. It’s okay, Darlin’, it’s okay. You’re okay. Go on and let it all out.”

Once April had calmed down enough to speak, everything came pouring out of her. Her father’s arrest and jail time. That he had cheated on her mom and beat up a sex worker. How she was gay and had known for a long time. How she was devastated when Adele moved away. How she was shattered when Sterling gave her away in fifth grade. That she and Sterling had grown close while they were building Solomon’s temple and how they had sorta dated. How she had broken up with Sterling at the lock in. How she followed her father out of town and he’d caught her. That he’d told her that Blair and Sterling had turned him in. How Blair had tried to call her, probably to yell at her about breaking up with Sterling. That she had confronted the twins before coming to see Ellen. She spilled all of it, while Ellen patiently listened and held her hand.

Halfway through April’s admission, the person who had answered Ellen’s door silently set a tray with glasses of water and a box of tissues on the coffee table in front of them, nodding at Ellen before slipping back out of the room. Ellen offered them to April who gulped the water and blew her nose into several tissues, never slowing down her tale as she laid everything out to Ellen.

Once she’d gotten everything out, April collapsed into Ellen’s arms. Ellen held her and stroked her palms up and down April’s back, again telling her, “It’s okay, April. You’re safe. You’re okay.”

After a few minutes, April regained her composure and pulled back from Ellen’s embrace. Embarrassed, she told Ellen, “I’m so sorry for dumping all of that on you. That was too much. I’m always too much.”

“Honey, I’m glad that you feel comfortable enough to share all of this with me and don’t you worry, what you tell me is safe with me, and with Moira, too.”

Hearing her name, Moira popped her head in the room. “You two alright in here? Need anything?”

Smiling at Moira, Ellen said, “I was just telling April, here, that you won’t tell anyone anything she’s shared here today. Isn’t that right, Hun?”

“My lips are zipped, April,” she stated while making a zipping motion against her lips with her fingers. She continued, “I know these aren’t ideal circumstances, but it’s very nice to meet you. Ellen talks about you all the time. You’re one of her favorites,” she said with a wink, extending her hand for April to shake.

Taking Moira’s hand in her own, April looked from Moira to Ellen, raising an eyebrow. “Do you live here, Moira?”

“I do. And believe me, Ellen and I understand a lot of what you’re dealing with. Well, not the criminal father or the girlfriend turning him in, but the other stuff.”

Ellen gasped, “you were listening in!” Playfully swatting at Moira.

“It was such a compelling story, how could I not!” Moira chuckled. “Sorry, April”

“Oh, that’s alright, Moira,” April offered. Eying Moira and Ellen, April ventured a guess, “So when you said you mostly understood my story, you were talking about the gay parts, right?”

“Of course.”

“Because, and I apologize if I’m reading into this the wrong way, but because the two of you are a couple?” April asked.

“Ellen told me you were a smart one!” Moira replied, grinning.

April watched as Moira took Ellen’s hand, the two smiling at each other adoringly. “I had no idea, Ellen!”

“Well, it’s sort of a new development and I didn’t want to jinx it, so I haven’t put photos of her all over my desk, yet!” Ellen mused.

“How long have you been together?” April asked.

“Almost six months.” Ellen gushed.

“And already living together. Stereotype much? April giggled.

“She was already knocking at my door every day, so I figured she might as well live here, too.” Ellen joked.

April cocked her head, waiting for them to explain further.

“I’m her mailperson,” Moira expounded, “she is pretty particular about her packages, so I got in the habit of waiting for her to answer the door so that I could hand them to her directly, rather than just leaving them on the ground, knocking, and moving on.”

“Gosh, April, I hate to admit this, but I started ordering extra Precious Moments figurines, just to have Moira bring me more packages!” Ellen admitted, ducking her head.

Moira added, “She was so darn cute, that I started knocking even when I didn’t have a package for her, just to say hello.”

“And I started looking forward to those few minutes so much that I started inviting her to come back around after her shift to visit some more and one thing led to the other and here we are!” Ellen added.

“Wow, that’s amazing,” April told the pair, “I’m happy for you both. You seem really happy together.”

Ellen and Moira looked at each other and then at April. “We really are,” Ellen replied, “And I must tell you that I’ve noticed the connection between you and Sterling and it seems like you two have something really special. I hope you can work things out.”

“Is that why you’re always trying to put us together?”

“I do think you make a really good team, in more ways than one. And like I said, the connection between you two has been there for a very long time.” Ellen explained.

“You could see it?” April asked Ellen.

“Oh, Honey, I would be blind not to. But that’s because I know the two of you so well. If you’re worried about other people noticing, I think most people your age are too wrapped up in their own drama to pay that much attention to what everyone else is doing. As for your father, well he also has his own drama to contend with and as long as you two play things safe, I don’t see why you can’t at least spend time together at school,” Ellen replied.

“I don’t know if I can forgive her for what she did to my family,” April utters.

“April, I’m about to lay a hard truth on you, and I know how hard those can be to swallow, so why don’t you take a sip of your water and listen.” April took a sip as she was told and eyed Ellen curiously. “Okay, Darlin’, here we go. Sterling didn’t do anything to your family. John did. He made some very poor decisions that have negatively impacted your life. That’s on him. From what you’ve told me, your father was arrested before you and Sterling got together and, now I don’t know why she didn’t tell you about turning in John, but I think you should at least hear her out. As far as I can tell, Sterling has only ever treated you with Christian love. I know you care about one another and you know what it says in the Bible about forgiveness.” Looking at April with care, Ellen finished, I’m sorry if this was harsh, but those are my thoughts.”

April let out a long breath, tears welling in her eyes, again. “You’re right.”

“About which part?” Ellen asked.

“All of it. John is the one who destroyed my family. Sterling is who helped me feel whole again. John is the one who cheated on my mom and beat someone. Sterling has always treated me lovingly, even when I was a total monster to her. John’s actions have always been completely selfish, but Sterling is one of the most compassionate people I’ve ever known.” Standing up from the loveseat, April thought for a moment before continuing. “I don’t owe John anything. He made his choices and he will have to live with the resulting consequences, including losing whatever it is that he and I once had. I will have to come to terms with that, eventually, but right now I think I owe Sterling a chance to explain. Thanks for helping me see things clearly.”

Rising to her feet, Ellen pulled April into a tight hug. “Oh, you’re so welcome, Honey. I really do hope you and Sterling can work things out. And whatever happens with her or your father, or anything at all, I hope you know that you can come to me with it. Even if you need a place to stay. We have an extra room with your name on it, okay?”

“That means a lot, thank you.”

Giving her one more squeeze, Ellen released April from the hug and looked her in the eyes, “now, you should give Sterling a call.”

“You’re right,” April stated, pulling out her phone.

\---

“It went straight to voicemail. She probably blocked my number.”

“I know I don’t know you or Sterling all that well, April, but from what I’ve heard of you both, you seem more like the blocking type, not Sterling,” Moira mused.

“Moira Jean, my goodness, you hush!” exclaimed Ellen to her girlfriend.

“No, that’s all right, Ellen,” defended April, “she’s right; I am known for blocking people.”

“Here, let me try calling her from my phone to check,” Ellen offered, pulling out her own cell and scrolling through her contacts for Sterling’s name. “There she is!” Ellen announced as she hit send. But her call went straight to voicemail, as well. “Okay, maybe she has her phone off.”

“That’s not like Sterling,” April explained, “she uses it as a music player, alarm clock, etc. She never turns it off.”

“But April, Honey. It’s the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday. She might not need either of those things. For all we know she’s busy at work. We also can’t forget that she’s probably still processing some feelings from the break-up last night and seeing you at her house this morning. She might just need some space,” Ellen soothed.

“You’re probably right, Ellen. I should get home before my mom starts to wonder where I am, anyway. I can try to talk to Sterling tomorrow at church.”

“That’s a good idea,” Moira said.

Ellen added, “Yeah, you can both sleep on it and then when you have undone all of those knots you’ll have clearer minds to see the bigger picture.”

April hugged both women and as they started walking her toward the door, she turned and smiled at them, “I’m really happy that you found each other.”

Moira and Ellen smiled back. “It was so nice to meet you, April,” Moira told her, “I hope you can work things out with Sterling.”

“Thanks, Moira, I sure hope so.”

“Oh, April, you sweet thing, Ellen cooed, “you two have something unique. Those special connections can weather mighty storms, you’ll see.”

As April walked to her car, Ellen called after her, “I’ll be praying for you and Sterling. I love you girls so much!”

April got in her car feeling a sense of relief. As she drove home, she practiced in her head what she would say to Sterling when they talked. They can work this out, she thought. “I have to hear her side of things. I owe her that,” she told herself.


End file.
